A Heavy Heart [Any]

[Squeeji]

The events of the last week were growing heavy on heart of the old scout as she plodded along through the darkest and most reclusive parts of Arnlan...she liked the more suffocating parts of Arnlan when her mood matched.

Here it was thick was shadows, dark and murky...it felt like winter's chill never left these places like it did in others. Pollux could not honestly remember the last time she had been here in the height of summer, it usually wasn't her time...but all the talk of love and loss had taken its toll on the old female, who wearily drug herself through the foliage, seeking something special.

She walked as if in a trance, going north by instinct and not by any conscious thought, her typical grace and finesse was lost in her travels. All she could think about was how far Arnlan fallen...if not how much it had changed.

Part of her was upset that she had been given no recognition for her years of hard work and service, but even that did not surprise her. Part of her worried about her hot headed brother, so hungry for their father's position. Then there was the the pup Nightblood...who was hardly capable of caring for herself, let a lone a litter...she couldn't help but pity her. And then there was Armageddon, the pup's scorn lover, who seemed raptured by the idea of being a martyr...

It was quite a bit take in...and for the most part, overwhelming for Pollux, who, whilst being the rock for many of the Arnlan youth, found herself without counsel in her own life...something she had needed but failed to get when she had been a younger wolf...but seemed to need even now.

The metallic she-wolf leapt over a few logs, and fallen forest debris, and under some more, hopping a creek and finally catching the scent of a small creek,near the furthest northern borders of Arnlan, where her life had changed...she found herself glancing wistfully over the border.

Taking in a long breath of air the old female sighed, like a widow at an all but abandoned cemetery she just closed her eyes and seemed to take it all in...mulling over the past as well as the present, she couldn't even fathom the future...but to be honest, she never could.

The slightest hint of a smirk tickled the edge of her whitening muzzle.

[Akree]

The soft wind brushed the female's fur softly, Uin loved how the wind felt on her fur, it always soothed her. She found herself walking north, thinking about what was to come, she wasn't one to judge, but Arnlan seemed to hold a lot of secrets even within its borders and secrets among "friends" always brought trouble. She walked slowly in an area where all the trees seemed raggedy and weak, letting the wind blow trough the land recklessly. She sighted, if she could help she would, but she was simply another soul on the pack, she wasn't the most experienced, nor the eldest nor the youngest, she was a fast runner and a skilled hunter, but her skills wouldn't go much farther than that.

She thought she was alone, this far north she thought rarely a wolf would travel here, then a familiar scent found her way through her nostrils. She had seen this wolf, she knew she had, then she remembered scout that had ran after the male in the meeting, she knew her name, what was it....Pollux! Yes, that was her name Pollux. Unsure of what she was about to do she found herself following the paces of the elder female, she thought some company would probably do her good and she hoped it would do the other female good as well.

She saw the female starring nostalgically at the border, she seemed lost in her thoughts and Uin thought she saw regret on the female's face. She hopped and ducked some fallen trees and debris that stood in the middle and noisily walked towards the female, now she found herself a bit shy, but still she kept herself smiling kindly at the female.

-"Hello." she said from behind the female, than she gazed at the border herself "You do not look in the best of moods..." she said while standing at the female's side with a kind smile "...is there anyway I could help?" she asked kindly and gently, clearly feeling a pang of sadness for the female.

[Squeeji]

"You're so very wrong." Pollux's tattered ear swiveled back, as she said her words she snapped her teeth defensively, though her voice was as even and sweet as usual. "There is nothing you can do, unless you're trained in the art of bringing wolves back from the dead, and magic to make things normal and to make right here in these confused lands." The female didn't even look back at the younger she-wolf who followed her to her sanctuary, if she had not been in a fair mood, she'd have taught Uin a thing or two about minding ones business and keeping out of one's den area.

"Now. What do you want?" Finally and slowly, the Master Scout's head turned, her mismatched eyes drilling into Uin as she took a step towards the young wolf.

[Akree]

Uin felt sorry for the scout, she really seemed to be distraught and if she didn't know any better, she would say like she was about to cry at any moment. But also she seemed annoyed, like the timber had only come to bother her and make her life even worse, this bothered Uin, but only slightly, the timber pushed the thought away and turned to look at the scenery. This was as far north as the timber had ever been, maybe she should explore Arnlan a bit more.

-"You're so very wrong." said the female, her ears turned back and she snapped her teeth, but Uin kept looking at the horizon a bit annoyed that the scout was being so cross at her, she hadn't done anything, but keeping her thoughts to herself. "There is nothing you can do, unless you're trained in the art of bringing wolves back from the dead, and magic to make things normal and to make right here in these confused lands."

-"I doubt anyone could do that." she said looking down at her paws "But, I do know one thing and that is that the past will not come here to help you..." she was being frank, if the wolf wanted stuff to fix themselves, she could not depend on the past, but she kept her voice level and calm "...It's better to look forward than look back, if not you'll be stuck in the past..." she stopped her ramble, unsure if the wolf would want to hear her words and she herself not wanting to speak, she found no intention in making a wolf that had been so cross to her feel better.

-"Now. What do you want?"

-Uin snorted and smiled kindly, keeping her voice calm "Nothing...it's not like I came here to bother you" she said turning her gaze to the scout " If you want to be alone, I'll just be in my merry way." she said with another snort, turning her head away from the scout. It would do her no good to spook everyone away, it was not as she had tried to annoy the wolf or something.

[Squeeji]

"...It's better to look forward than look back, if not you'll be stuck in the past..."

Pollux chuckled and shook her head, "It always sounds simpler to a pup who's never lost that which matters most." The Scout took a long stretch, the crackling in her bones were testament to her age catching up with her.

"We should go now...this isn't your place, and for now, its not mine." she walked past Uin and bumped the female gently, a kindly gesture to encourage her to move on. "So what do you think of the pack's current events?" she said so conversationally, wondering if the youth would respond her face cracking into a sly and toothy grin.

[Akree]

-"It always sounds simpler to a pup who's never lost that which matters most."

-Uin smiled kindly "Maybe, but this pup dislikes seeing her pack mates like this, that must count for something." she said while shaking her pelt.

She smiled as the scout walked towarsd her. Pollux always seems to be the kind in which the whole pack opinoin values, or at least listens too. Maybe its because she has expirienced a lot and would serve more like a compass indicating each individual member what road is the best, but in turn making it a bit harder on her all the same.

-"We should go now...this isn't your place, and for now, its not mine."

The scout walked towards her and gave her a gentle bump, Uin smiled back kindly. And she followed the scout, hurrying her pace to be next to her instead of behind.

-"So what do you think of the pack's current events?"

-Uin gave a small groan she said " To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think, I don't know much of the pack members and by the looks of it not everyone is pleased with all these hubbub..." , trying to remember all that had happaned during the meeting "But the Alphas certainly know what they want to see in Arnlan" she said with a sigh "but I personally think that either Arnlan keeps to many secrets from everyone or that the pack has spread thin, members don't see each other much, they keep mostly to themselves..." she gave a sigh, she should keep more attention to what is going on around her, maybe it was she that kept herself isolated from Arnlan, but in which case she didn't know what to do.

[Squeeji]

"You're too kind...Uin isn't it? I can tell you for certain, that this will strain Arnlan in ways that are not and will not be pleasant." The scout's voice was gruff, why did everyone beat around the bush to say this was not a good idea? "The pack is, as you said, spread too thin, I agree, there are too few high ranked wolves, and I will admit, those who are ranked are too young and inexperienced to understand the gravity of the positions they are in."

"On top of that, throwing pups into the equation will only make a mess of things...its like a female trying to get pregnant so her mate will feel guilty and stay...mark my words Uin, I pity those pups more than any she-wolf can fathom." Pollux shook her head in disgust letting out a slight snort as the two walked. "It would be like trying to put a bandage on a missing limb...there is trouble brewing and...whilst everyone is cooing about Nightblood's litter I can assure you that something sinister is more than likely waiting in the wings."

Her tail flicked as she looked to the shadows, wondering when and if the Alphas were going to come down upon high and say something to her for her brash tongue. "And I am certain, that it will not be an outside force that will endanger Arnlan, but a power from inside that will cause it harm...and that's discontent. Surely you saw it at the pack meeting?"

[Akree]

-"You're too kind...Uin isn't it? I can tell you for certain, that this will strain Arnlan in ways that are not and will not be pleasant." she said in a gruff voice, probably pointing out something that Uin didn't completely get. "The pack is, as you said, spread too thin, I agree, there are too few high ranked wolves, and I will admit, those who are ranked are too young and inexperienced to understand the gravity of the positions they are in."

-Uin nodded, understanding what the scout said, also answering her question about her name " Yeah, that would be like letting me be alpha, talk about total chaos, I could never completely cope with it." she said while shaking her head lightly " But most wolves here are fairly young..." she said trying to remember everyone she saw in the pack meeting " We can just hope that they do know what they're doing"

-"On top of that, throwing pups into the equation will only make a mess of things...its like a female trying to get pregnant so her mate will feel guilty and stay...mark my words Uin, I pity those pups more than any she-wolf can fathom."

-Uin nodded " They are right about arlanians natives, though, but I don't think it's the right time..." she said looking down at her paws "at least not yet."

-"And I am certain, that it will not be an outside force that will endanger Arnlan, but a power from inside that will cause it harm...and that's discontent. Surely you saw it at the pack meeting?"

-Uin nodded gravely, looking at the scout "Not everyone is pleased, not everyone thinks is the right thing to do, not everyone..." her words faded, like something the wind blew away, she just hoped it did not come to the worst "When not everyone is happy, everyone will go making stupid and harsh decisions and one thing leads to the other, at the end...I just hope it does not come to the worst."

[Squeeji]

"Well its foolish to think you can make everyone happy, that's highly unlikely, but...there's enough discord, I wonder what the Alphas are thinking..." Pollux's mind passed over the image of her brother, a very shrewd and powerful wolf, who'd be nothing but trouble if he felt like it....he had not seemed the least bit pleased at Sofika's commands.

"But what do I know...this will either sink or swim, its no concern of mine, I'll do my job, and the Alphas and their beta can do theirs." The scout shrugged. "I just wish Arnlan wasn't resting on their laurels so to speak...we are great, no other pack meets our power or would dare attack us...but that same mindset makes us weak..."

"I mean, look what happened to Raknu." Pollux chuckled shaking her head at the folly of the once great hybrid pack...now there were two, mere shadows of the first's greatness. It had been an amazing day as a scout to witness that fall so many years ago...even at a distance. "The entire pack fell in a fortnight due to treachery and infighting..."

[Akree]

-"Well its foolish to think you can make everyone happy, that's highly unlikely, but...there's enough discord, I wonder what the Alphas are thinking..."

-"Yes that's true, but I think that the ones displeased are capable of some kind of turmoil and its dangerous to think a pack turning against each other, I just hope that everyone can keep their heads."

-"But what do I know...this will either sink or swim, its no concern of mine, I'll do my job, and the Alphas and their beta can do theirs." said the scout "I just wish Arnlan wasn't resting on their laurels so to speak...we are great, no other pack meets our power or would dare attack us...but that same mindset makes us weak..." Uin liked the scout's company, she seemed like a good soul and was glad to be able to voice her thoughts to someone who would listen, but this concerned her. "I mean, look what happened to Raknu." said the scout with a chuckle, Uin had heard of this pack, but wasn't sure exactly as to what say about it "The entire pack fell in a fortnight due to treachery and infighting..."

-"Ranku..." Uin repeated softly "I'm afraid I don't know much about this pack, only that one displeased pack member was enough to destroy the whole pack, is this true?" she asked turning her gaze fully to the scout.

Surely the scout would know about the fallen pack, she was sure that at least she had heard about this, if not witnessing it herself. Uin was always the kind to prefer to speak of current situations than the past, but this brought her curiosity. How a pack fell because of one displeased member, surely that would make an interesting story.

[Squeeji]

"Eh, you'd recognize the name of her if I said it...there was a Coup headed by the female Nightshade, there was disagreement, since she was the alphas mate...and she disagreed with the alphas decision to make a dog his heir." Pollux didn't know everything of course, and there were some details missing in her story, but then again, it was only the gist of it that Karolek and Sofika wanted when she was a younger scout. "So that dog, and that she-wolf seperated the pack in two parts, one an all wolf pack, the other made up of the dogs...and now we have Sallin and Synl...."

Pollux yawned and stretched, "An old story, boring and true, but not a bad thing to keep in mind...the mighty fall, they just do it harder than others...and now all that's left is a monumental pain in the ass." she chuckled, thinking of their not so nice neighbors to the south...Sallin.

[Akree]

-"Eh, you'd recognize the name of her if I said it...there was a Coup headed by the female Nightshade, there was disagreement, since she was the alphas mate...and she disagreed with the alphas decision to make a dog his heir." said Pollux thoughtfully "So that dog, and that she-wolf separated the pack in two parts, one an all wolf pack, the other made up of the dogs...and now we have Sallin and Synl...." Uin didn't want to interrupt her, so instead the timber urged the scout to continue. "An old story, boring and true, but not a bad thing to keep in mind...the mighty fall, they just do it harder than others...and now all that's left is a monumental pain in the ass."

Uin nodded, thinking about what she should say. Nightshade seemed to want everyone as her enemy and that wasn't the best of ideas, because when your enemies fought back and fought back hard, she wouldn't have any allies to look upon, that could be Sallin's fall from power, the great demise.

-"Well that's just how it goes." she said sarcastically "You mind if I asked you a question?" she asked kindly to the scout "I know its none of my business, but that fellow next to you seemed really upset, who is he?" she asked, tilting her head to the side